Customs
by Tsumi-Amethyst
Summary: "I bet you 500 rupees I can get her to kiss me before you can get her to kiss you," said a voice from nowhere. Link started, seeing an amused look on Falco's face – even the corners of Snake's mouth had turned up slightly. Toon Link was looking up at his older, alternate self with a confidence usually reserved for the battlefield. Link/Zelda, Toon Link/Zelda


Author's notes – written before the Smash Brothers Nintendo Direct on 8th April 2014. Just an idea I've had in my head for a little while. I hope that you like it!

"Why don't you just kiss her and get it over with, pal?" Falco asked loudly, not caring that Zelda was sitting at the other end of the room and could probably hear every word he was saying. He was leaning against a wall in a room on Metaknight's Halberd, whilst Snake sat nearby smoking a cigarette. Fox had wandered across at some point as well to chat briefly as they all had no matches for that day and were quite simply bored and looking for something to do. Toon Link was sat on the floor at his counterpart's feet, staring at his feet.

Link shot his opponent-come-friend a weary look.

"It's not as easy as you think..." he started, but was cut off quickly.

"I bet you 500 rupees I can get her to kiss me before you can get her to kiss you," said a voice from nowhere. Link started, seeing an amused look on Falco's face – even the corners of Snake's mouth had turned up slightly. Toon Link was looking up at his older, alternate self with a confidence usually reserved for the battlefield. The plucky youngster had been doing very well in the Brawl lately, his swift, powerful moves keeping everyone on their toes.

Nevertheless, Link knew one thing for sure – this was one bet he was not going to lose.

"Deal," he said with a small smile, extending his hand to shake with Toon Link to make the bet 'official'. He felt slightly uneasy as he saw the confident glint in his counterpart's eyes, but thought nothing of it – there was no way that Zelda, a sophisticated woman, would ever grant a kiss to some cutesy, scrawny kid with scrapes on his knees. No, Zelda wanted a man, not a child. Link was certain that 500 rupees would be coming his way. "A kiss on the cheek is-"

"No! No way is that good enough! It's the lips or nothing!" Toon Link interrupted, a determined look on his face, pulling his hand back slightly. Falco barked out a single laugh, then stopped when he realised that he wasn't joking – even Snake had stopped puffing on his cigarette to look over, mildly interested in the conversation.

Link considered the serious look on his counterpart's face. It was the same look which overcame the boy's face when he was in battle, he realised. If that was how Toon Link was approaching this, he thought to himself with a slight smile, then this would certainly be interesting. It was almost kind of the boy to give Link the perfect excuse to go over and _finally_, as Falco would put it, 'snog the girl's face off'.

"Deal," he repeated, and this time the two men did shake hands.

With a smirk, Falco – who had been watching the entire exchange with great interest - turned to Snake and Fox who were standing nearby. "Wanna bet on this too, fellas?" Fox rolled his eyes, and Snake merely grunted in the negative, continuing to smoke. Falco held his hands up, defeated. His eyes flicked to Toon Link, who was making his way over to Zelda as they spoke. "Okay. But just sayin' – this will be good." He rubbed his hands together gleefully, as he saw Link straighten his back nervously. "What's up, Link? Think he's actually going to do it?"

Link quirked an eyebrow. "Not in the slightest," he said, feigning disinterest whilst watching what the young man did carefully.

Toon Link stood before the Princess now, fidgeting slightly. "Hi, Princess!" He said chirpily.

Zelda looked down at where the noise was coming from, and shot the boy one of her magnificent smiles. "Why hello there, Link." Unlike many of the other residents on Metaknight's Halberd, she actually referred to him by his name, rather than adding some diminutive (Wolf in particular received a rather nasty beating after calling him 'Girl Link') to distinguish him from the older Link. "How are you today?"

Toon Link beamed up at the princess. "I'm fine, thank you Princess!" Falco started sniggering, and Fox nudged him to stop, but couldn't hide the smile breaking out on his face. "Um... can I ask you something?"

Zelda's smile didn't drop a beat. "Of course, Link. You just feel free." She rested her head on her hand, gracefully waiting for him to continue. Link smiled at the sight, remembering how Zelda would pose like that in front of her loyal subjects in Hyrule. It made them feel like they were being listened to, and sometimes Zelda would spend many minutes talking to just one of her faithful citizens, ensuring that she understood and would try to resolve their complaint.

"Um..." Toon Link shifted from foot to foot, as if nervous. Link exchanged a grin with Falco – the kid was chickening out! "Um... well... I just wanted to say 'thanks', really. You've always been really nice to me, even when no one else did! It just shows how great a person you are. So, um, thanks."

Zelda's smile went even wider as she listened to Toon Link's compliments. "That's very kind of you to say so, Link, but I don't think I've done anything special to warrant such praise." Link's heart skipped a beat as he heard the princess' way of turning a compliment back on the other person. She just enjoyed making other people feel special, and that's why she made such a great ruler of Hyrule... 'and of my heart', Link thought to himself wistfully.

Toon Link grinned even wider. "Well, anyway, thank you, Princess!" His face turned a little shy then, and he looked away for a beat. "Um... Princess... could I maybe... kiss you?"

Falco clapped a hand over his mouth to stop the sounds of his laughter alerting the princess to their little game. Fox buried his face in his hands with a groan, and Snake stopped mid-puff to stare. What the hell did the kid think he was doing? Surely he didn't actually expect that technique to work? At best, Snake thought to himself, he's going to be on the receiving end of a slap. Zelda's face dropped for an instant.

"You see, it's a way of showing thanks and appreciation," Toon Link continued quickly, when it looked as if Zelda was about to refuse, "from where I come from. From _my_ Hyrule."

Link sucked in a sharp breath. Toon Link was certainly onto something – at the mere mention of his Hyrule, Zelda's ears pricked with interest, and her back straightened slightly – her curiosity was captured. "Really?"

Toon Link nodded enthusiastically, and Falco swore quietly beneath his breath. "That is one hell of a clever move," he breathed, and Fox elbowed him, hard, in the ribs to get him to stay quiet. Beside them, Snake chuckled quietly to himself, finishing off his cigarette with an appreciative sigh. The tension in the air seemed to have doubled, and the Link beside them seemed to have also sat up straighter – although _he_ was gripping the hilt of the Master Sword as he watched, eyes narrowed as he watched the actions of his younger self essentially woo the woman of his dreams – he seemed to know her better than he did! It didn't help, he thought miserably to himself, that he became terribly tongue-tied – even for him! – whenever he spoke to the elegant princess. Toon Link seemed to have no qualms, however, about charming and blatantly asking the beautiful woman for a kiss. Worse still, he made it all seem so innocent! He growled beneath his breath, scowling across at the boy as if looks could kill. The next time they met in the Brawl arena, Toon Link was going to get it!

"That's right," Toon Link carried on smoothly, his feigned nervousness from earlier completely gone as he realised that he had the princess right where he wanted her. "Kisses are given between friends, as well as between boyfriends and girlfriends-" he said the last bit with a grimace, effectively reminding everyone in the room how 'innocent' he was because of his age (Link, however, was soon learning that this was not the case at all!). "-to say thank you. Because sometimes, words just don't cut it, yknow? So we kiss each other to say thanks."

Zelda smiled, nodding in agreement. "That sounds like a wonderful custom," she said, beaming down at the boy in a way that made Link's stomach throb with jealousy. "A kiss it is, then." She lowered her face and exposed her left cheek to the boy.

Toon Link hesitated – and Falco, Fox, Link and Snake all watched with bated breath – had the youngster chickened out? Had he just gone this far to merely upset his older alternate self? Was he about to walk away from the situation with a grin on his face? In fact, the youngster looked... upset. Zelda noticed, and paused, frowning. "What's the matter?"

Toon Link shifted from foot to foot. "Have I done something wrong, Princess?"

Zelda blinked. "No, why would you-"

"Because in _my_ Hyrule, we kiss on the lips if we really mean it."

Falco had to leave the room. Fox vaguely heard howls of laughter coming from behind the closed door which lead into the corridor, and he exchanged a dazed look with Snake, whose face seemed torn between amusement and disbelief. Link seemed to have frozen, hand still resting on the hilt of his Master Sword.

Toon Link, all the while, was trying his utmost to keep a straight face. He had never had to fight so hard before in his life to keep a straight face! He continued looking away from the Princess, as if he were genuinely upset about something. He made sure that he kept his eyes hidden from view in case they betrayed any of his humour at the situation.

Of course, everything he was saying was utter nonsense – and he hadn't missed Falco's outburst and quick escape from the room. He had simply recognised that the princess held an interest in the customs of his Hyrule – perhaps she was trying to glean what her Kingdom could become – he wasn't sure. Toon Link almost lost it by grinning when he saw the avian return, a look of seriousness pasted tremulously on his face. He just looked at the floor then instead, shifting his weight from foot to foot as if he were genuinely hurt.

Zelda leaned down in front of the youngster, and took both his hands in hers. She said nothing until Toon Link's eyes slowly met hers, the tiniest hint of tears glistening at the corners. Zelda shot him an affectionate smile.

"Of course you've done nothing wrong, Link. It is I who did not understand the ceremonies of your Hyrule – forgive me." And before Toon Link could say another word, she leaned forward and kissed him briefly, on the lips. At the other end of the room, Fox's mouth dropped open in surprise – Snake let out an acknowledging grunt, and turned back to polishing his gun, interest gone – and Falco turned violet from the effort it took not to laugh again. Link's face had paled considerably, hand gripping the Master Sword so tightly that his veins were throbbing and the bones of his hand were clearly visible - Fox could almost hear the bones in his hand cracking under the pressure.

Zelda pulled away from the young man, smiling as she did so. Toon Link looked surprised for a split second, and then schooled his features into the biggest grin imaginable. "Thank you, Princess!"

"Thank you also, Link. I would love to hear more about your Hyrule when you have time," she said, sincerely. Toon Link nodded vigorously.

"I sure will! Later, Princess!"

"Until next time, Link."

With that, Toon Link turned away from the Princess, and sauntered back across to the stunned group of fighters. He took in Link's pale, shocked face, and extended a hand calmly. "500 rupees." He said.

Falco high-fived the boy before he had the chance to receive his winnings, clapping a hand on his shoulder afterwards. "That was amazing, kid! How did you know that would work?" Toon Link shrugged and mumbled something about 'just knowing', when Link pushed 500 rupees, resentfully, into the boy's waiting hands. Fox hesitated, wanting to comfort the teen, but the look in his eyes suggested that he was better left alone for the time being – they would undoubtedly catch up later. Unrequited love was a challenging thing at the best of times, and it was unfortunately an area where Fox had a lot of experience – they would comfort each other later, no doubt.

"That was my first kiss," Toon Link teased, much to his peril. The withering look shot at him by his older counterpart did little to perturb him, however, and Falco gave a little woop, followed by a chuckle at the boy's joke.

Falco was in the middle of congratulating the boy further when Link's look of surprise fell from his face, and he stood up from where he sat with urgency. Everyone turned to look. Zelda had come over to their spot, and she was looking directly at the Link from _her_ Hyrule.

"Really Hero, there is no need to stand every time I come near you," Zelda chided with a slight smile. Link didn't know what to say, so said nothing. Zelda tilted her head ever so slightly.

"Did you know it is customary in Link's Hyrule-" she gestured to Toon Link as she spoke, "-to kiss as a means of expressing thanks?"

Link started, and suppressed an angry growl. His stomach churned with jealousy, despite the fact that Toon Link had won their silly little bet fair and square. He would have to make do with merely imagining what Zelda's lips felt like pressed against his own...

"I've heard that, yes," he replied stiffly, and Falco snorted. Fox nudged him to shut up, interested in where this was going. Surely she wasn't going to...?

Zelda ignored Falco, and stepped in a little closer. "It's time I gave you my thanks, Link, for all you have done to save both me and my Kingdom." And with that, the Princess leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. In unison, Falco, Fox, Snake and Toon Link paused and their mouths fell open in shock. Link didn't move a muscle and kept his eyes open, surprise evident on his face even as the princess backed away. She smiled, and Link felt his heart skip a beat and his cheeks flare with warmth. He fought back the smile just waiting to present itself to the world, surely giving his feelings for the princess away.

"I think such customs would be a wonderful thing to have in my Hyrule." She turned and looked down at Toon Link. "Thank you, Link, for bringing this custom to my attention."

A pause. "N-no problem," Toon Link said after a moment, starting himself into action. Zelda smiled, leaving five perplexed fighters staring after her in a stunned silence as she exited the room.

A prolonged pause. "I still won," Toon Link managed faintly, unable to believe what he'd just seen.

Link swallowed, hard, resisting the urge to puff out his chest in victory. He himself was still in quite a bit of shock, and he hesitated before speaking, ensuring that he had perfectly memorised the warm, soft feeling of the Princess' lips against his own. "I believe I'm the winner in this situation, though."

"I'm not giving you your 500 rupees back, though."

"I know. That's fine."

Link and Toon Link exchanged a look, and both felt that strange surge of familiarity at the same time as the other as their eyes locked, and all of a sudden Link felt a rush of affection for his younger self. Despite the younger man's cheekiness and childish bet, he'd actually benefitted from it a lot, and if he didn't know any better, Link would have said that his counterpart had had the whole thing planned to work out that way from the beginning. He removed the boy's trademark hat and ruffled his blond locks a little.

"Thanks, Link."

Toon Link smiled for a beat, and then stepped away cautiously, a wary look in his eyes. His body was poised as if to run at the slightest movement from the older boy. "You're not going to kiss me, are you?"

Link froze, but when he looked at Toon Link again, neither could resist bursting out into fits of laughter.


End file.
